Ittefaq falls behind Thor Ragnarok at India box office on day one

By HT

Ragnarok is supposed to mean the ‘end of all things’. For Thor Ragnarok, the third iteration in the series about the god from Asgard, it appears to mean the exact opposite.

The film starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Cate Blanchett is smashing its way across box office windows around the world, including India. Despite Abhay Chopra’s debut directorial venture, Ittefaq, opening to good reviews, it could not keep pace with the Marvel movie in India.

In Ittefaq, Dev (Akshaye), a police officer, is investigating a double murder case that has only two witnesses, who are also the prime suspects. The suspects - Vikram (Sidharth Malhotra), an acclaimed writer, and Maya (Sonakshi Sinha), a young homemaker, have different narratives about the events of that fateful night. Both the stories appear to be true but there can be only one truth.

Ittefaq is the remake of a BR Chopra film made in 1969. The original film featured Rajesh Khanna and Nanda in lead roles.

Hollywood film Thor Ragnarok, meanwhile, is marching to its own beat. “#ThorRagnarok has one of the best starts for Hollywood films in India... Fri ? 7.73 cr Nett. GrossBOC: ? 9.91 cr. India biz,” Taran tweeted.

In the US, Thor: Ragnarok has clocked a $46 million opening day (including $14.5 million previews) and is flying toward an opening between $115 million -$120 million at 4,080 theaters, the 7th best opening in November, and the 9th title to open north of $100M for the month, reported Deadline.

It is the best reviewed superhero film ever, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, beating such worthies as The Dark Knight series, Logan and Wonder Woman. Buoyed by excellent reviews that can’t stop congratulating director Taika Waititi for the vision he has brought to the straight-laced Avenger, this sequel is showing no signs of sagging.